Distance Learning in Florida: Why the Sunshine State is the pioneer in the field

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by: Sarah Maple
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Word Count: 535
Date: Mon, 25 May 2009 Time: 1:50 PM
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The USA is often viewed as an inspirational country for distance learning, online education and home study. Here in the UK we may have the eternally popular institution, the Open University, but across the pond the recession has not only seen the number of online degree courses soar, to the point of being advertised on prime time television, but home schooling has long been accepted as a normal alternative means to an education from any age, especially in certain areas. Consequently, when children get older the idea of distance learning is nowhere near as strange as it might seem to those over here - and Florida is the state that leads the way.

Florida's reign as e-Learning king began in 1997 with the establishment of the Florida Virtual School. Founded by Julie Young, the online middle and high school is free of charge to children living in any of the state's 67 districts (it is funded by taxes), but is also available to those outside of the county on a tuition fee basis. The school currently offers courses ranging from maths and science and such obscure subjects as Latin, Global Studies and Drivers Education - and currently caters for over 30,000 students.

However, the popularity of the institution is not merely reflected in statistics of popularity and numbers. Ironically, in 2009 when e-Learning is said to be one of the only sectors to do well from the recession, the government has announced that it wants to cut up to 15 percent of budget from Florida Virtual School. Consequently, this proposal has caused uproar amongst parents, teachers and students alike - with the St. Petersburg Times quoting one Floridian: "When I talk to people in other states (about online education), they say, 'We want to be like Florida.' "Yet Florida doesn't. That's the irony of the whole thing, isn't it?"

Interestingly, this is not an isolated incident where the Florida public have demonstrated the dependence on the Virtual School. The institution hit the news last month also as (reported at cfnews.com) 7 year old girl took it upon herself to change a state law to make sure she can study there. Jessica Howard realised that the newly imposed law (in which students wishing to enrol at FVS must have studied at public school for a year before they can do so) was unfair, and with the help of her mother began a petition to stop she has since received over 1000 signatures including that of Republican Governor Charlie Crist.

Despite the reputation that has grown over the past few years, the Florida Virtual School is set to become even more important to the learners of the state. At naplesnews.com Young described how the "school is bracing for an increase in demand for online courses as some Florida districts look at reducing course offerings due to budget cuts." Yet, in the meantime the most recent news is that the public may have won where funding is concerned, as the latest news story from the St Petersburg Times (May 13th) states that the state is set to receive $1.8 billion in education stimulus money.

About the Author

Sarah Maple is writing about online study and how to get an online degree.